Misconception

Sir, - `Reply to a tirade' by Shripad Dharmadhikary (The Hindu,
May 15) has answered comprehensively the points raised by Prof.
P. V. Indiresan in his ``Dams & activism'' (The Hindu, May 5).
First and foremost, it is a misconception that large storage dams
are built to quench the thirst of the people. Dams are meant for
irrigation and power generation and one needn't look into the
crystal ball to find out who reap the rich harvest.

It is elementary knowledge that, while the building of dams
causes widespread devastation of natural forests, the gap between
supply and demand for water is ever widening. It is therefore
obvious that dams are not the solution.

Perhaps, it is true that more the number of social activists the
less are the jobs for civil engineers, and likewise, less jobs
for nuclear engineers, fighter aircraft and missiles engineers
and uranium mining engineers, and so on. Perhaps, we should drop
all the health and social welfare projects so that doctors can
prosper. I would like to pose a specific question to Prof.
Indiresan: What fraction of the total output of the Indian
Institutes of Technology follow a career in Engineering
(including dam-building)? If my memory serves me right, it is not
long ago that he took pride in stating that the IIT Engineering
graduates far outnumber all the rest in the entrance selection to
the Indian Administrative Service, Indian Institutes of
Management, etc. It follows, therefore, that social activism
against building dams will have little effect on the job
prospects of engineers.

Subbiah Venkataraman,

Thiruvananthapuram

Sir, - Mr. D. S. Pillai in his letter (May 11) has described the
unavoidable displacement of the tribals as ``uprooting from their
homesteads''. Mr. Pillai, like the anti-dam activists (of the
Narmada dam), would like the tribals to be left undisturbed,
which implies that they should remain as they are today even
after a century and more.

Should a section of society, however small it is, be condemned to
live untouched by the benefits and enrichment of human life
science and technology have made possible? Should they remain
perpetually illiterate? Should they not be redeemed from their
vulnerability to the vagaries of nature and superstitions?